What Do You Want
by onalee
Summary: Cannon through 4x09 Delena with a hint of StefanxKatherine. Damon thought he knew everything about her after years together, but she's constantly taking him by surprise. A series of one shots about the ups and downs of Elena and Damon's journey together, and where its gotten them.
1. Chapter 1

I lay there, Elena's body sprawled across my own and I decided this was already by far the best Christmas Eve I'd ever had. Better than last year when Jeremy and his wife lured us back to Mystic Falls for the holiday with pleas that little Ric had begged for us to be there. Of course Elena couldn't refuse her only nephew anything and I had to admit I'd grown attached to the 5 year old as well. Last Christmas had been a disaster. I knew it was a mistake to go back the moment I looked into Elena's eyes on Christmas morning, it was the last time they'd been dry all day. While Mystic Falls was home for both of us, it was too much too fucking soon. Sure, it'd been fifteen years since we'd even_ lived_ there, but when I finally got her out of that town in one fucking piece I didn't have any intention of ever coming back. When she left she was leaving behind a whole lifetime of bittersweet memories, many of which where she was still human. She didn't have to say it, but I was pretty confident that there were too many memories of bloodshed there for such a white holiday. Of course that didn't stop her from begging to go back again this year. She couldn't bear the thought of not seeing Jeremy and his family on the holiday.

We compromised, as we so often have to, and visited him and his family for a couple of weeks mid-December, making sure to be long gone before the 23rd. And even though we'd agreed beforehand, she was more than protestant when I started to load up the car. Eventually I got my way, with minimal force used and we were flying down the highway toward the airport without looking back. Which brought us to the comfy bed we were lounging in now, on most private Aruban island I'd ever had the pleasure of visiting. I smiled in spite of myself, remembering the debate of Christmas plans just a few months ago.

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* * *

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_It was just after Thanksgiving, after I'd seen Jeremy, his wife and little Ric out to their car I strolled back into the living room of our secluded house near Atlanta. Elena was in the kitchen, washing dishes. I watched her for a moment from behind, knowing that she must be lost pretty deeply in thought not to just zip through the process with her vampire speed. It had taken a few years, but she was more than used to vampire pace now, in fact she glided through everything she did so suavely that it was as though she was born to be a vampire. If I didn't notice the tenseness in her shoulders I might've thought that the domestic behavior was kind of endearing. She jumped when I circled my arms around her waist from behind, but I knew she sensed me coming. _

_ "Good thing we're vampires." She stated absently, continuing to wash dishes while I placed lazy kisses against her neck and shoulder. "Otherwise we'd never be able to keep up with that kid." She sighed. I paused my ministrations, sensing her change in mood and attempted to remove the dishes from her hands, but she only held onto them harder, scrubbing so quickly that the entire sink was in a blur. I'd seen her this way before, dozens of times actually. In fact I was usually the one who put her in this sort of mood in the first place. I tightened my grip on her, trying to drag her back from her emotions, but I knew it would probably be in vain. _

_ "Elena." I said clearly, trying once more to grab her attention. She shook me off, but before I could try again, the glass plate broke in her hands, shattering onto the floor in hundreds of pieces. _

_ "Great, now I have to clean th—" _

_ "I'll do it, just come here Elena." I said sternly, recognizing her deflection. But she ignored me once more and started buzzing around the room again, picking up the shattered plate piece by piece. She was so fucking stubborn. If I wasn't worried I would have smiled in spite of this woman I was so madly in love with. She was infuriating, irritating, stubborn and the most loving vampire I'd ever known. She was beautiful and so __**Elena**__, even in these moments when her emotions threatened to overpower her. It was both her strength and weakness. _

_ "Elena, come here." I repeated. I could chase after her, and in this emotional state I would be able to catch her easily, but she needed to come to me, if I tried to grab her she would only push away harder. _

_ "Damon I am fine, I just was scrubbing too hard and Ric is getting so big so it takes a lot more to keep up with him and I just wasn't… I am fine." She repeated, refusing to even look in my direction. I didn't move from my position leaning against the sink, deciding that when she was ready she would come to me, she always did. _

_ It'd been this way since the day Ric was born. When she looked into his eyes for the first time she was a complete goner. It was one of the scariest days of my life. I'd been dreading a conversation about children with her, because we'd never talked about it and she turned before she had the opportunity to even decide what she wanted. I'd been through this, I knew that the first lifetime around was the hardest and while part of me wanted to tell her to suck it up, another ached for her human life, the life she could have had without me, without Stefan and Klaus and every other supernatural asshole that'd changed her world so permanently. When everyone I knew was still alive, growing up, falling in love and having children it just made it so much more obvious as to what I was missing out on, it made me __**bitter**__. I didn't want that for her. I knew that her brother's wedding was hard enough, let alone the birth of his first child and her __**only**__ other living blood relative. These were all human milestones that she couldn't have and it __**hurt**__._

_ When we came home that first night from the hospital, I asked her if she wanted kids. I was always such a masochist that way, asking her rather than waiting for her to tell me. We might've had months of blissful happiness together before the inevitable conversation, but I sprung it on her that very same night her nephew was born. I expected that she would tell me it wasn't an option, or that it didn't matter, but instead she was quiet for a really long time. _

_ "Maybe in a different life." She'd shrugged, slipping under the covers next to me. "But all I can think about is how I'll have to watch that tiny baby grow old, and before I can blink I'll be burying him." Her answer had surprised me, as she so often did and I was never sure if it was a good thing or bad thing. What she was saying was reality though and I wasn't going to try and tell her it wouldn't suck, but I did tell her I would be there. She seemed genuinely comforted by that, which never failed to make my heart surge, even at such an inappropriate time. That was what I was good at I supposed, inappropriate timing. _

_Since that first night, if she went too long without seeing him when she finally did she would breakdown. Not because she wouldn't have kids of her own, but because it was too fast, and she was absolutely terrified of losing the only family she had left. _

_ She slowed after a minute or two and began to slowly gather the pieces of the plate in her hand, until she sat down in the middle of the kitchen floor. And just when her shoulders began to shake, and she let her hair fall in front of her face, I was next to her. Before a tear fell down her cheek my arms were around her, holding her tightly to my chest, where she fit so perfectly. Eventually her hands wound around my waist and she was clutching to me, sobbing into my neck as I held her and stroked her hair. _

_ I __**hated **__it when Elena cried, but I decided a long time ago that I hated it more when she cried and I wasn't there to comfort her. It took her a long time to accept my comfort, and sometimes she was still too proud to ask, but whenever she cried I felt my heart break for her. Like her sobs were mine too. This woman was my whole fucking life, and when her world was rocked, so was mine. As lame and romantic as it sounded, it was true. For the past 16 years everything I did revolved around Elena. First it was her safety, and now it was her happiness. I would guard her happiness with my own life, it was more important to me than my own by far, in fact, my happiness depended almost entirely on her. _

_ "I'm sorry." She sobbed into my chest, but I shushed her.  
"Don't be." _

_ "I just wish we got more time with them." Her voice was evening out as she relaxed into my arms a little. _

_ "We can visit more often if you want. I know they drive me up a wall but what else is family for." I smiled when she managed a small laugh. _

_ "Years just go by so much faster now, it's hard to look at Ric and know he won't ever have lived as full of a life as we will." She sighed. It was times like now that Elena surprised me most. I knew of her worries and her fears. I could gauge her mood and predict a lot of her reactions, but when she shared her wandering thoughts, she only made me ache for her that much more. Jesus, this girl had me. _

_ "He'll live a full life. In some ways fuller. He'll get to grow old and wise. He'll never have to watch his favorite aunt die." I said softly. She grinned again, swatting my arm. _

_ "That's true." She murmured. After a pause she spoke again. "Is it easier, knowing you'll never have to lose Stefan?" She asked. My heart panged for her and I tried not to show it on my face. Over the last 15 years mortality had started to mean something to me again, especially in little Gilbert's case. I'd even lost a little bit of sleep knowing that someday Elena was going to lose the only family she had and I never would. Sure Stefan had __**pissed **__me off over the centuries and I didn't really think he made the smartest life choices, but he had life choices to make, and Jeremy wouldn't live a fraction of the life Elena would. If I was honest I would say that I was scared to death it would be the thing to finally break her. _

_ "Unless I decide to kill him." I said dryly, avoiding answering her altogether. She laughed again. _

_ "Seriously Damon." She persisted. She looked up at me with that life-changing-stare-into-the-depths-of-your-soul gaze, and my stomach twisted. _

_ "If you're trying to get me to turn your brother all you have to do is ask, but I'll tell you up front, having an immortal little brother can be a serious pain in the ass." I teased. She laughed and we sat I silence for another couple of moments. I was hopeful that she would drop it, and maybe we could salvage what was left of this thanksgiving. _

_ "Let's do Christmas with just you and me this year." She said. And like it was the most casual thing in the world she added, "Christmas should be spent with family, we'll visit Jer just before and see Stefan and Katherine after, but you're my family and I want to spend my Christmas with you, no sadness, no crying, just the two of us." She said resolutely, snuggling back into my chest and relaxing against me. If I'd been standing I probably would've fallen over. Of __**course **__I wanted to spend my Christmas with the girl who made my undead life worth anything at all, but for her to call me her family was touching a part of my heart that was so intimate I wasn't sure until this moment it was even there. _

_ "Just you and me. Happy." She repeated. It was all I could do to nod and swallow the lump in my throat, stroking her hair and trying to commit this moment to memory. __**Family**__. I repeated the word in my head, realizing that there was no better way to describe us. We were together and happy and __**family**__ now._

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* * *

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I trailed the tips of my fingers along the silky skin of Elena's spine, smiling at the way her breathing hitched. She'd been awake for some time now, probably watching the clock like a child, waiting for the moment she could say it was finally Christmas. This was one of the only traditions we'd been following that I enjoyed. A sleepy murmur of holiday cheer from the love of my life whispered at exactly 12:01am every December 25th. I glanced at the clock in our hotel room, only 3 minutes to go. I supposed I could hold off on round two until then.

I let my thoughts wander again to the traditions of this holiday, and the ones Elena and I had tried and sub sequentially failed at. Mistletoe was the first tradition we ruined, it was before we were even officially together, and I'd turned her away because of the sire bond.

The first holiday out of mystic falls we had Jeremy, Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie and Stefan over for dinner, but that hadn't gone according to plan either. Of course we hadn't known that Stefan had been seeing Katherine for weeks, and she'd always been one for dramatics so when Stefan told her she was free to crash the party it was something she took pretty literally. I was sure I was going to stake Stefan when Katherine and Caroline ended up at each other's throats before it was time for presents. Elena was more than upset about her perfect Christmas being ruined by Katherine's antics. Of course I wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of everyone coming over to be all holly and jolly at our place so when she demanded that we never do that again I was more than willing to oblige.

Katherine had actually been somewhat decent to Stefan over the last decade or so. After they worked through all the spite (with what I presumed was a lot of spite filled sex that seemed to work some of the brooding out of my little bro) they developed a seemingly meaningful bond. They were spontaneous, even more so than Elena and I, but after threatening Katherine a few times within an inch of her life I was fairly confident that she was making him less miserable than he had been previously, which was honestly a huge weight off of my mind. I kept tabs on them for sure, but Stefan hadn't gone on a blood binge since just after Elena and I first got together so I wasn't as concerned as I thought I would be.

Elena stirred a little in my arms and I glanced once more to the clock, 12:00am.

"Damon?" I stiffened in reaction to the hesitancy in her voice. I had not been expecting anything other than a "Merry Christmas" and lazy round of love making. We'd become so comfortable with each other that anytime she used _that_ voice it put me on edge. It usually meant that I was about to hear something I really did not want to hear. I used a finger to move the hair from her eyes and she turned to me, resting her chin on my chest to look up at me. I appraised her expression for a few moments, deciding that whatever she wanted to tell me wasn't bad. The way her heart was beating faster than usual did have me curious though. Even for a vampire her body gave her intentions away quite often.

"Are you happy?" It was one of the last things I was expecting her to say, and before I could respond she continued, "I mean I assume you are, but I don't ask and you're always doing things for me and I don't want to ask you for anything… I just want to know if you're happy." She'd glanced down when I tried to catch her eyes and I felt my stomach clench in response. She wasn't one to hide things, not since her series of suicidal missions for the greater good just before we escaped Mystic Falls. This felt suspiciously like she was trying to come clean about something. I felt my nerves kick into overdrive knowing that it would only take a few words from her and she could be gone, just like that. I pushed away the thoughts, I hadn't thought that way in a while, my insecurities over Elena's commitment vanished somewhere between the time she began referring to us as a "we" and when we were arguing over sheets for our new bedroom. She wasn't going to leave me, I knew that, but every once in a while a dangerous fleeting thought crept across my mind, threatening to be my undoing. Just when I was about to ask what she was getting at she sat up abruptly, pulling the sheet tightly around herself as she positioned herself across from me, running her fingers through her hair. It was one of her typical stressed out moves.

"Forget I said anything, it was stupid." She let out a small laugh and I studied her again. She was practically shaking with nerves as she buried her face in her hands. I was certain that if she wasn't a vampire she would be blushing crimson. While Elena's apparent embarrassment was endearing it sparked my curiosity once more. Over the last 15 years I found myself almost always sensing when she wanted something from me. Of course she wasn't predictable, every time I turned around she went and did something that I wasn't expecting, but I could usually sense her discontentment. I frowned, wondering if she was unhappy with something, if that's why she was asking me. I took a moment to think about my own happiness and almost laughed, our life was good. It was spontaneous and sometimes domestic and irritating and fulfilling and it was _ours_, of course I was happy. It was a laughable question, I got the girl, forever.

"I'm _very_ happy Elena." I smirked, reaching out to pull her back to me. But she hesitated. She had more to say. "Are you?" I questioned. Until that moment I was sure that she was happy, we spent a good chunk of our time arguing but considering we were the most stubborn immortal creatures on earth it was a given for us. It took us a while to find our place as a couple, because there were no couples like us, but we found balance.

Her head shot up at my question, her eyes meeting mine again. I held her stare for a moment, searching her eyes for signs of sadness, but I didn't find anything. I was instantly comforted by the intimate gaze.

"Of course I am." She replied sincerely. I relaxed a little at her response and took her hand, yearning for physical reassurance now.

"But…?" I questioned. She gave me a small smile at that, knowing that I could read her like a book. We sat there for one long moment while she was probably mentally rearranging her words.

"I think I want…something." She started slowly, "and I hate asking you because I want you to want it too, and if you don't then I don't want it at all, and I know you'll get me whatever I want because I want it, but I've been thinking about it a lot and I think I want it but if you don't then I am just fine the way things are, we've never even talked about it and I mean we have forever so it seems silly really but then again why not?" She nervously rambled to the point where she was trembling and refused to look at me.

"What do you want Elena?" I asked carefully, remembering that distinctly maternal look her eyes she got when looking at Ric that would threaten to undo her. It was times like right now that I wished we were both human, so I could give her everything she'd ever wanted. It was one of my biggest insecurities, that I couldn't give Elena a child. I would give her anything, so it was the one thing I was hoping she wouldn't ask for.

"It's stupid." She replied, almost as a warning. We sat in silence for another moment.

"Is it kids?" I asked quietly, almost surprised I'd said anything at all. I hadn't planned on it, but these days it was hard to keep anything from her. I studied her expression carefully and to my surprised she looked genuinely shocked by my assumption.

"Kids? No." She laughed. "I've told you a hundred times, I love Ric, but even if we could have kids, I'm not sure I would want them, and we have forever. I mean you've said it time and time again that if I wanted to we could raise a baby as our own, but we have forever." She said and her smile suddenly faded, "Forever, right?"

This time I was really taken aback, Elena was usually so bold with her emotions and what she wanted, to see her question our relationship so openly was slightly endearing, but mostly fucking unnerving. This conversation was taking twists that I was not at all prepared for, not so early in the morning, not ever.

"As though I'd ever let you leave." I said, sitting up to get closer to her, my body thrummed with desire for her, even through this conversation. "Tell me what you want Elena." I asked again, my eyes boring into hers as though I could will myself to know what she was thinking.

"It's embarrassing." She said, but she didn't break eye contact. She was so vulnerable that it was almost painful to watch.

"Nothing you do is embarrassing, not with me." I paused. "And if it's _that _mortifying I can easily make you forget." I smirked, playfully nipping at her shoulder with my teeth, waiting patiently for her to say whatever it was that had her so nervous. I could tell she was coming around when she squared her shoulders, and placed her hands gingerly on each side of my face. The intensity of her gaze was overwhelming, like I could see into her soul.

"Would you ever consider making it official?" For a moment I was sure I hadn't heard her right. Official? She was a fucking vampire, this was as official as it was ever going to get. She was going to live forever with _me._ We lived together, did everything together, we built a life together. She was mine and I was hers, officially. She knew that, and so did I so what was it that she wanted?

"How?" I asked bluntly, genuinely confused. I could have sworn her heart was beating even faster when I asked. Her hands were shaking so badly that I had trouble focusing on anything other than if she was okay.

"I know that it's not something vampires really _do _and you probably don't even want think about marriage because what's the difference really and" I tuned her out after that word and my entire body went numb. I felt like I couldn't think or breathe or even function.

She wants to marry me.

She wants to fucking get _married_.

It wasn't like I'd never thought about it. I'd thought about it since the day I first felt her lips against mine, before that probably. All I ever wanted to do was make this girl mine forever and at first everything was so fragile and new and then it was fast and spontaneous and everything was so good and happy that I never fucking imagined how it could be better.

Maybe the idea had gone out the fucking window when she died because it was so human, the idea of "till death shall we part" but really that was what we were doing anyway. Until this very moment I was couldn't possibly think there was a way to make anything between Elena and I any better. But making her my _wife?_ I got chills just thinking about it. It would be the best decision I could ever make. It would be a fucking honor for that girl to wear a ring on her finger that made her mine for the rest of eternity, not that she wasn't already.

Maybe once upon a time when I was human I thought about getting married. And yeah when Elena was still human I fantasized about marrying her, but also about living a human life with her, with kids and a dog. I guess I had just put them all in a package deal. Unless we were both human marriage wasn't an option.

And suddenly I felt really stupid. Had she been waiting for me to ask her? Because if I'd known she could have possibly wanted this with me, I would have asked her the second we got out that town. For all intents and purposes when we left she was making me a promise and I was making her one too, forever. I never thought for a second that she was waiting for me to pop the fucking question. Why hadn't she told me before? God I should have done it right, I should've gotten a ring and made this girl understand just how much I wanted her. I just never thought she could've wanted a marriage, not as a vampire, not with me.

But it was. It was what she wanted. It was what I _always_ wanted with her. I wanted to marry her. I was going to marry her. Suddenly it occurred to me that I had done this completely wrong. I should have gotten down on one knee years ago, I should have a ring and say something about how my whole fucking world revolved around her because I loved her that much but we'd never really done anything the right way.

And then I realized she was still talking and shaking and turning all shades of pink, which I didn't even think was possible, but she was a mess and it was because she thought I might say no, that I might not want to marry her. It was absurd. She was fucking insane. Of course I wanted to marry her. I wanted everything with her. So I showed her the only way I could in that moment.

I locked a hand in her hair and kissed her with a force and passion that rivaled every other kiss we'd ever shared because this wasn't a kiss really, it was a promise, an answer, a question and a _vow_. I could waste time with words that would never mean enough but I was never good with trying to say how I felt. But I could make her feel it.

It could have been hours or minutes or years later when she finally pulled away just a fraction of an inch with a gasp, her forehead resting against mine, her eyes searching me for the answer she already had to know. But just so there was absolutely no miscommunication whatsoever I pressed my lips against her softly once more.

"Marry me, Elena?" I breathed against her swollen lips, memorizing her every miniscule reaction to the question I thought I had asked when I we had first become a couple, because we were more than that, we always had been. A grin that rivaled any other broke out across her face that made her glow and I couldn't help but feel like a kid on Christmas who had just gotten everything he'd ever wanted and more.

"Yes." She hardly had a chance to whisper her reply before I pinned her against the bed, meeting our lips in a collision of desire, passion and sheer joy that was untranslatable.

"Merry Christmas, Damon." She mumbled, momentarily pulling back to pull the sheets over us once again.

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**Hey everyone this is my first time writing for the TVD fandom, I've become OBSESSED. There may be another one shot following this if it goes over well, please let me know what you think. **

**Thanks! Please read and review! **

**-Onalee **


	2. Chapter 2

Elena hardly ever asked Damon for anything, which frustrated him to no end. He was pretty confident that one of the main reasons she never asked was because she knew he'd give it to her, whatever it was that she wanted, and Elena liked to be more difficult than that. That wasn't entirely the reason, but none the less Elena wouldn't be _Elena_ if she didn't keep him guessing. Usually he knew what she wanted before she did. He liked to keep her on her toes with little surprises, gestures here and there. Call him a romantic, he didn't give a shit. It was hard _not_ to be a romantic when he literally living out his happily ever after for the rest of forever.

Looking at Elena now, curled up on their sofa in a blanket he'd bought for her, her nose stuck in a traveling book, the small velvet box in his pocket felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. It was what she wanted. He had to remind himself. It was what they _both_ wanted. I mean for fuck's sake she was the one to ask him to marry her, the least he could do was put the fucking ring on her finger and tell her she was everything to him. The truth was he wanted this so bad that it hurt. Sitting there, with her hair pulled up, looking more at home than he'd ever seen her tugged on his heart in a way that was almost painful. She was so beautiful, so content.

"We haven't been to Peru." She commented, not glancing up from the book. "Have you been?" She asked, flipping the page.

"I spent a few months there a couple decades back." He shrugged, pouring himself a drink. He was going to need it before he asked her anything.

"I'm thinking we should go on another travel binge." She grinned, "You know for our honeymoon." She said, a hint of excitement in her voice that made his heart clench in his chest.

They'd traveled a lot, in fact they went from place to place for almost three years non-stop. That too had been something she'd been afraid to ask him for.

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* * *

_._

_Damon wasn't expecting her home until late. She had a night class on Wednesdays, a night class that she hated but never skipped. She'd wanted to go to college, to be a student while it still felt right. She wanted to live with normalcy for once. He bit his tongue about the fact that she was a vampire now, with a vampire boyfriend because she seemed genuinely happy, and if this was what she wanted, he would give it to her. _

_ They'd been living in New York together for just over three years, and while she loved the city, she hated school. Most of the time she was too stubborn to admit it. However he took opportunities here and there to remind her, much to her dismay, that she had all the time in the world for school, if she wanted to take a break no one would hold it against her. She stood her ground though, arguing that she wanted to say she got a degree, that she did something with her life. In his opinion, which he had made very clear, she could do much, much more amazing things without a journalism degree. _

_ Damon had a few odd jobs here and there to keep himself busy while Elena was off being an over-achiever, most of which were in the justice system. He thought it was ironic how he'd gone from mass murderer to a fucking detective in such a short time, but why not? Now that he had someone to care about he found himself uneasy in the city. She was a vampire now and she could protect herself as well as he could protect her, however it always felt good to watch a serial rapist get convicted on his accord._

_ It was 9:30 at night when he strolled back to their apartment just off NYU's campus, Elena would be home in about 20 minutes. He'd been gone all day and so had she, to his dismay she'd insisted on taking an 8am class, which usually prevented morning sex, so he wasn't fond of it. _

_ He stepped in the door and froze, the entire apartment was empty. Boxes lined the floor of the living room, filled and taped shut. Books, knick knacks, picture frames and utensils were packed away. Everything was packed. She was leaving him. _

_ Panic gripped him like a vice, rooting him to the floor as he took in the sight he'd had nightmares about since they left Mystic Falls. He frantically searched his mind for the trigger, what he'd done that could have set her off. Maybe he shouldn't have insisted she blow off her communications paper last week, but that was hardly anything unexpected, she hated communications anyways. _

_ He used his vampire speed to get to the bedroom, where he heard her speaking. He stood in the hall, his undead heart throbbing in his chest listening in. Her back was to him as she stripped their sheets, the rest of the room already packed away. It was a physically painful sight. _

_ "No, you don't understand I need a moving van tonight." She argued. Damon felt ill. "Tomorrow morning won't work I need my things sent to the storage unit tonight." She was silent for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh. "7am sharp then." She hung up the phone abruptly and ran a hand through her hair. He almost didn't want to alert her to his presence. He just wanted to watch her for another moment, another moment where he could pretend she didn't hate him now, for whatever reason. _

_ "Going somewhere?" He meant for it to sound snarky, but it came out half strangled. She spun around to take in the sight of him and sighed again. He studied her expression, hoping to find something in it that didn't scream she was leaving. That maybe against all odds this wasn't what it looked like. _

_ "Hey." She turned to face him. She looked like she didn't know where to start, he hoped she would just not. She gave him a small smile, and then glanced around the room at all the boxes, sighing again. _

_ "You were right." She said, grasping his hands. He winced, he _**was**_ right. She was going to leave him. He didn't trust his voice, so instead he just quirked an eyebrow at her quizzically, unwilling to let his grip on her hands slip away. _

_ "I've been sitting in a classroom for three years taking classes that I hate." She paused, "I know, you've told me a hundred times I can quit, but that's just not what I do, I wanted this degree this was the plan." She said, sounding exasperated. "I think I just wanted so badly to have something normal after everything we've been through." She pulled away and Damon flinched at the loss. She moved to their bare bed, perching herself in the center, sitting cross legged. She motioned for him to sit with her, and because he couldn't deny this girl anything he did. He left a foot between them, hoping that it might quell the pain when she broke the news that they were over. She wanted normal. She didn't want him. How could he blame her for that? He swallowed thickly, waiting for her to continue, yet unwilling to urge her on. _

_ "But I was sitting there this morning and the professor was talking about Greece and how magical it was and I was jealous. I was _jealous_ of this guy because he knew the world and had been places and learned things about life and he'd seen things I can only dream about." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I'm not human, I'm not normal, we're not normal." She stated, catching his eyes. "And I just wasted three years sitting through lectures that aren't relevant to me because I'm not a human. I'm not going to follow an average career path, I'm not going to have kids and tell them about how important it is to get an education." She was breathing heavily now, her emotions fueling her speech. "I'm following a stupid plan I made when those things mattered, but they don't anymore!" She shouted, moving away from the bed to stand. Damon's eyes followed her, hooked on her every word, desperately trying to follow her thoughts. _

_ "I died! I _died_ and so those things that were supposed to matter, they don't anymore. Maybe if I was alive it would be different, but I'm not. I'm wasting all this time being stuck and hating school and it's just ridiculously stupid because I have every opportunity open to me right now, I have _you _and I have this world and forever and I just don't know why the hell I'm wasting so much time being miserable because it does not matter anymore." She paused again, her chest heaving. _

_ "I dropped NYU. I can come back later if I want to. Right now I want to learn something about the world and see things and be happy with you. So spare me the 'I was right and you were wrong' gloating speech and I'll let you pick where we go first okay?" She still wasn't looking at him, she was trying to zip up her suitcase. His eyes wandered to the right, where he saw his. _

_ He couldn't keep up with this girl, but as understanding crept up on him he went from devastation to elation. She still wanted him. And she admitted she was wrong. And she was asking him to take her wherever he wanted. She was being spontaneous. She packed up all his shit. If he wasn't so fucking relieved he might be irritated with her for not waiting for him to help. _

_ "You dropped out of school." It was the first thing he could think of, uncrossing his arms, moving towards her at a cautious pace, as though he was afraid he'd set her off. She was in rare form, and while this might just be a fit of emotions, she rarely ever took things this far if she wasn't serious. But she still wanted him. _

_ "Yeah, and before you tell me that I should think about this, I'm telling you that I have. I have thought about it, for a while actually." She met his eyes, taking a step towards him. " I've been frustrated with school and it not being what I wanted it to be, but it's not what I want it to be because I'm not a human, I'm a vampire and you're a vampire and sometimes that sucks but sometimes it's awesome and I'm done making it suck. We've been doing things my way and it sucks. So let's do it your way." _

_ He swore he'd never heard a more beautiful sentence in his life. She still wanted him, and she wanted to do it his way. His brain had gone on overdrive the minute he walked in the door and he was so fucking relieved that it was all he could do to lose the distance between them and pull her desperately into a kiss that he hoped gave away just how fucking much he loved her._

.

* * *

.

"You know I'm always up for an impromptu trip around the world." He quipped downing his drink in one swig.

"Rough day?" She asked, she was too familiar with his drinking habits.

"Nah." He shrugged. He felt her eyes on him, weighing a thousand pounds, but he turned his back to pour another drink. Jesus he needed to get it together. 15 fucking years and he couldn't ask her a question she'd already said yes to. Before he could turn around she'd blurred from her place on the sofa and snaked her arms around his waist, placing small kisses on his shoulder blades. It gave him chills.

"Talk to me." She mumbled into his shirt. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, it was time to man up. He told himself when he had the ring specially customized that he was giving himself time to prepare for this, apparently three weeks wasn't enough.

"I can't believe you want to marry me." He didn't mean to say it, in fact he almost rolled his eyes at the surprisingly sentimental confession. She slipped around him, so she was facing him, her arms still twined around his waist.

"Well you are kind of an ass." She grinned. He smirked at her, he couldn't help it and he tucked an errant hair behind her ear, letting his knuckles trail down her cheek.

"I love you, Elena." He stately clearly, as though it was the first time. He needed her to hear it again, right now.

"I know." She smiled up at him, waiting patiently for him to get out whatever it was he needed to divulge.

"I have something for you." He smirked, plucking the little velvet box from his pocket and holding it up. She made a grab for it, her eyes widening excitedly, but he held up a finger.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to do this the right way for once." He slowly dropped to one knee, and Elena nearly giggled in excitement.

"You make me happy." He looked up at her, this girl he was so fucking in love with that he couldn't stand it, and that was all he could think to say. He had a whole speech worked up about what an asshole he was and how he was overprotective but she made him better, she made him whole. He was going to talk about how beautiful she was, how she made his dead heart leap when she looked into his eyes, how he would never get tired of hearing her voice. Instead he told her that she made him happy and although it was nothing it was also everything. He knew that she knew, and she beamed at him and it made him love her even more. She got satisfaction out of making him happy, which was something he still couldn't really understand or describe. She made his life worth living.

"Be my wife?" He whispered, his voice coming out much more insecure than he had intended, he snapped open the small velvet box, and watched her expression change. Tears immediately flooded her eyes.

"Oh my god, Damon, is that a—

"I just thought this way it would kill two birds with one stone you know?" he said nervously, defending his idea. He'd had two small daylight spelled stones set on either side of the princess cut diamond, deciding that she might only want to wear one ring and he wanted it to be his.

"It's perfect." She whispered, carelessly ripping the current daylight ring from her finger and holding her left hand out to him. It was a moment that he knew he wouldn't ever forget, so he tried to engrain it into his mind as deeply as possible. He took her waiting hand and slid the ring he'd picked onto her finger, his heart surging with pride at the knowledge that from now until forever it would be a symbol that they belonged strictly to one another.

.

* * *

_._

_Damon's palms were sweating as he stood in the doorway of the ridiculously large apartment that his brother was currently inhabiting, attempting to play it cool. He'd come to tell Stefan he was getting married. 15 years ago, hell even 10 years ago he would've waited for his baby bro to hear it through the grape vine, or he'd come to rub it in his face, depending on how he felt that day. However with copious amounts of time hundreds of miles between them at any given moment, the pair of them had managed to salvage the brotherhood they'd nearly destroyed back in Mystic Falls. Though neither would admit it the women in their lives had immensely helped them become better friends. Most of the time they were bonding by keeping their girlfriends from ripping one another apart, but it was bonding all the same. _

_ "Damon?" Stefan opened the door and stared at his brother, a smile hinting on his lips. _

_ "Nice place Stef, I see Katherine has helped you reduce your hoarding habits." Damon quipped nervously. He wasn't sure why this news had him so on-edge, but it did. He didn't need Stefan's approval, hell he didn't even want it. It was something else. In fact if Damon thought Elena would be even remotely interested in eloping he would jump at the chance and send Stefan the good news from a postcard on their honeymoon. It wouldn't bother him, because this was about him and Elena. However, he wanted to do right by his fiancée and part of that was thinking about what she wanted. She wanted a wedding where Jeremy walked her down the aisle and Caroline as her bridesmaid. She wanted to have the full experience and he was going to give it to her. But he figured before everything was official and the invites were sent, he wanted to have a drink with Stefan._

_ "Good one." Stefan rolled his eyes letting him in. "Where's Elena?" He asked immediately. Damon was impressed that he didn't even wince. If there was one good thing about Katherine it was that she had Stefan wrapped around her finger and he'd never been less broody in his entire life. Plus, she actually loved him, which had taken him a long time to believe. He had to admit when Stefan and Elena were alone in the same room some nostalgic part of him itched in irritation, but it was never anything more than that, not anymore._

_ "I came alone." Damon replied, flipping open the cupboards in search of Katherine's good liquor. _

_ "What's wrong?" Stefan's tone changed immediately, becoming grave and worried. Damon smirked, this was the Stefan he remembered. _

_ "Does something have to be wrong for me to visit my baby bro?" He grinned, pouring himself a drink. Stefan eyed him skeptically, but Damon ignored it, listening intently for signs that Katherine was home. _

_ "It does when you're alone." _

_ "Where's Elena's favorite great-great-great-great-great-great grandma?" He asked but Stefan brushed him off, not even cracking a smile. _

_ "Not here, tell me what's going on." He demanded._

_ "Relax Stef." He said seriously. "I just wanted to tell you something before you heard it from the peanut gallery." Suddenly this all seemed like a stupid way to rub his engagement in his brother's face, but he'd already reached for the velvet box he'd been keeping on his person since he picked it up from his personal jeweler. _

_ "I'm asking Elena to marry me." _

_ Two hours later Damon and Stefan sat in an old bar that Stefan had become accustomed to, insisting that he owed his brother a real drink to celebrate. Damon didn't know how he was expecting Stefan to react to the news but he was surprised when Stefan said in that brotherly way, "It's about time." He was even more surprised when he actually smiled at him and gave him a half hug. Damon shoved him off, stunned, but laughed with Stefan while they gave each other crap about how soft they'd gone. _

_ "I wonder what Kat will say." Stefan grinned, lifting his beer to his lips. _

_ "Nothing, she's not invited." Damon snapped back, starting to really feel the buzz. "I'm keeping the guest list strictly to those who haven't attempted murder on the bride." _

_ "Small wedding then." Stefan chuckled. Damon almost laughed in spite of the moment. His brother had certainly developed a sense of humor over the past decade, which probably led to the fact that they were sitting here sharing a drink to celebrate his engagement to a girl they'd nearly killed each other over. "Of course you're assuming she'll say yes." Stefan smirked at his big brother and Damon let out a laugh._

_ "It was her idea." After he spoke he knew he'd let the cat out of the bag and now would have to suffer the humiliation of telling his brother that although he managed to somehow get the dream girl, it never actually occurred to him that marriage was something he should think about. _

_ "Must run in the family." Stefan shrugged, gesturing for another round of beers. "Katherine didn't even tell me about our wedding until we were there." Stefan laughed, avoiding eye contact with his brother. Damon's eyebrows shot up in literal shock. Either his brother learned how to keep a secret 15 years too late for him to benefit from it, or he was getting better at the practical jokes. _

_ "You're kidding." Damon said dryly, squinting at Stefan. Stefan laughed and shrugged. _

_ "You can't tell her you know." He smiled fondly at his hands before looking back to Damon, who was rendered speechless. He'd never seen his brother happier, nor had he ever seen him more serious than he was in this moment. _

_ "You and __**Katherine?**__" He asked again, completely bombarded by the new information. _

_ "You wouldn't know." Stefan grinned. "But 11 years ago she demanded that I put on a suit and meet her in this little spot by the Nile we used to frequent." Damon stared at his brother, unable to process the news. "She was wearing a white dress, holding a bouquet and had a compelled minister standing by. At first I was more confused and shocked than you are, we'd never even talked about it and its __**Katherine**__, I mean who would have ever thought she'd want that?" He let out a dry laugh and shook his head. "Then she looked me right in the eye and said that if I ever told anyone about this she'd rip out my heart." He took another drink of his beer, apparently nostalgic about the whole disturbing thing. _

_ "She's always been such a romantic." Damon quipped, but it came out hoarse, he was so shocked he felt like he couldn't even think straight. Stefan and Katherine were __**married**__. More than that, they'd been married every time he'd seen them in the last __**eleven **__years. Suddenly he punched Stefan hard in the arm. _

_ "Hey what was that?" He groaned._

_ "Maybe if you'd fucking told me you were __**married **__sometime in the last 11 years I would've taken the initiative a little sooner." He grumbled, but he wasn't even irritated, in fact he didn't really know what he was feeling, maybe happiness for his younger brother. When they were human they didn't talk about marriage very much, mostly because they were men, but also because they happened to be head over heels for the same girl. But Damon always knew that Stefan had wanted this life. He wanted a wife and seeing this shit eating grin plastered on his brother's face was pretty surreal. _

_ "To marriage." Stefan raised his bottle to Damon, who hesitated a moment, contemplating this moment with his brother that he never thought he'd have. _

_ "To family." He just barely mumbled, but Stefan's grin widened a fraction of an inch as they clanked their bottles together and drank.._

_._

* * *

.

Without missing a beat she had him pinned against the wall consuming him in a kiss that made it clear just how much she'd liked that ring and it made all the bitching and moaning he had to endure from his jeweler completely and totally worth it. He gripped at her hips, yanking her flush against him as they battled for dominance. He tore open her blouse without a second thought just before his own buttons went scattering through the room. He flipped them so her back was flat against the wall and she ran her soft, delicate hands over his bare chest with rushed, rough touches.

"I love you." She breathed into his mouth when they broke the kiss, her eyes wide and vulnerable, speaking volumes that she couldn't find the words for. He nearly swore at the intensity of the moment, he couldn't take it. Her tender lips were too close, her chest was heaving into his, every contour of her body grinding against him like a familiar comfort and climax of sensations simultaneously. It was enough to drive him crazy and it was his, forever. He'd known that before tonight. He'd known for a long time that Elena would always be his, but this moment was so much more than that.

Staring into this fucking perfect woman's eyes was like seeing his salvation in the flesh. She caressed him in ways he didn't understand that he needed and every time she opened her mouth it was like he was falling in love with her all over again. It was exhausting and comforting and thrilling. She was this person who had made him something he didn't think he could be. Happy was such a mundane term for what she'd done for him that he suddenly felt like he'd somehow insulted her with the word.

He lifted his arm in a move that was heavy and light at the same time and slowly laid his palm at the side of her face, watching every miniscule expression she made, waiting for her to blink and for this moment to end, but it didn't. She leaned into his touch and he felt her body respond with excitement. He let out a shuddering breath he didn't know he was holding and closed his eyes for a split second at the sensory overload. She was too much, this was all too much. But it wasn't enough either, this beautiful fucking woman who was wearing his ring and telling him he loved him and _meaning it_, because she knew all of him, it was hitting him now and hitting him hard.

So he did what he knew how to when words failed him. He took her to their bed and touched her in the ways he knew made her crazy. He caressed her with careful tenderness and scraped his blunt teeth over the crook of her neck. He made her scream and cry and whisper his name until nothing was left to her but the sensation that was uniquely _them_. And when she couldn't keep her eyes open a second longer he lifted her tiny body gingerly, and slipped her underneath the sheets. When he pulled her flush against him he watched her body conform to his. Her head found its place on his chest and her leg hitched over his thigh, he realized that this was his life. He took a moment to really look at her like this and found that his chest swelled with a feeling he couldn't really place. It was a possessive pride that was the thing that drove him through every day and he didn't know what he'd done down the road to deserve it, but he was going to _marry_ her.

And he waited way too fucking long to ask her.

* * *

.

**A/N Hey guys, So I decided I'm going to turn this into a series of one-shots. I know I'm not done with this, with how depressing the show is right now I usually pull it out and start writing when I need some fluff. I hope you liked it! Thanks for all the reviews I really appreciate them they help me out inspiration-wise. **

**Let me know what you think! :) **

**-Onalee **


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